Earlier on Friday, thousands of protesters gathered across Cairo and other cities including the eastern Egyptian hotspot of Suez and the Nile Delta cities of Mansoura and Sharqiya, calling for an end to “corruption” and “dictatorship,” Al Arabiya TV reported.

Protesters gathered near the presidential palace in Nasr City, outside of Cairo’s city center, according to Al Arabiya TV.

Police fired rubber bullets at thousands of protesters who had gathered outside the prominent al-Azhar mosque in central Cairo after Friday prayers, a Reuters witness said.

A number of police members removed their suits and joined protests against the regime, according to Al Arabiya.

The crowd threw stones at police lines and shouted slogans against President Hosni Mubarak, 82, and his son, Gamal, 47, who many Egyptian believe is being groomed for future office.